Classical CivilisationQ&A by dot point

Analysing prescribed sources and stimulus material: how the picture and stimulus questions work, how to identify and describe a visual source (a statue, vase, building or coin) and a literary source, and how to move from describing what is shown (AO1) to explaining its meaning (AO2).

The 15-mark extended response: how the 'how far do you agree' essay is marked (AO1 knowledge and AO2 analysis and evaluation), how to plan a balanced two-sided argument with named evidence, and how to reach a supported judgement under timed conditions.

Comparing Greek and Roman evidence and revising for J199: how the Myth and Religion paper draws on both cultures, how to compare them in an answer, how the two equally weighted papers and their components fit together, and how to revise the named gods, heroes, sources and terms the exam rewards.

Greek and Roman attitudes to death and the afterlife, funerary and burial practices (rituals, tombs and offerings), beliefs about the underworld, and the mythic journeys to the underworld (katabasis) made by Odysseus, Aeneas, Heracles and Orpheus.

Heracles (Roman Hercules) as the universal hero: his birth and the hostility of Hera, the Twelve Labours, other exploits, his depiction in art, and his significance to both Greeks and Romans, including his use in Roman ideology.

Myth and the symbols of power: the use of gods, heroes and foundation myths to project political authority, with a focus on Augustus (his association with Apollo, Venus, Aeneas and Romulus) and monuments such as the Ara Pacis, and the use of mythic imagery on coins, statues and buildings.

The foundation myths of Rome: Aeneas's journey from Troy to Italy and his role as ancestor of the Romans, the story of Romulus and Remus (the she-wolf, the founding of the city and the death of Remus), and how these myths expressed Roman values and identity.

The nature of the gods (immortality, anthropomorphism, power and limitations), the major Olympian gods and goddesses and their Roman equivalents and spheres of influence, their symbols and attributes in literature and material culture, and myths showing the gods interacting with mortals.

Theseus as the local hero of Athens: his journey to Athens and the bandits, the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, Ariadne and the voyage home, his role as a unifier and king of Athens, and how his myths expressed Athenian values and civic identity.

Major Greek and Roman festivals (such as the Panathenaia, the City Dionysia, the Lupercalia and the Saturnalia): their rituals, processions, competitions and feasting, their religious purpose, and their role in binding the community together.

The role of religion in the public life of Athens and Rome, the nature and duties of priests and priestesses and how they were chosen, and the place of religion in civic identity, including the link between the gods and the well-being of the city.

Roman temples and religious architecture: how Roman temples drew on but differed from Greek ones (the high podium, frontal steps and deep porch), their location in the forum and city, key examples such as the Maison Carree and the Pantheon, and what they reveal about Roman religion and power.

The practice of worship: the procedure and purpose of animal sacrifice, libations and other offerings, the role of prayer, and votive offerings, and what these rituals reveal about the relationship between gods and worshippers.

The concept of sacred space (the sanctuary and altar), the form, function and location of the Greek and Roman temple, its key architectural features (columns, cella, pediment, the orders), and the religious meaning of temples such as the Parthenon.

Roman leisure and entertainment: the public baths and their social role, the amphitheatre (such as the Colosseum) and gladiatorial games, chariot racing in the circus (such as the Circus Maximus), and what these reveal about Roman society and the role of the emperor.

Pompeii and Herculaneum as evidence for Roman city life: how the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 preserved the towns, what they reveal about housing, work, leisure and daily life, and how to use such archaeological evidence with awareness of its strengths and limits.

Roman education: the stages of schooling (the ludus under the litterator, the grammaticus and the rhetor), what was taught, the place of the paedagogus, and how education differed according to status, wealth and gender.

Roman housing: the town house (domus) and its layout (atrium, tablinum, peristyle, cubicula), the apartment block (insula) and the country villa, and the decoration of homes (wall paintings, mosaics and furniture) as evidence of wealth and status.

Slavery and freedmen in Roman society: the sources of enslaved people and the range of their work and treatment, their legal status, the process of manumission (gaining freedom), and the position and opportunities of freedmen.

The Roman family and household: the power of the paterfamilias, the role and status of women, marriage, the upbringing of children, and the place of the household gods in family life.

Mycenaean art and material culture: the gold of the shaft graves (including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon), frescoes, decorated pottery, weapons and armour, and the tholos tombs such as the Treasury of Atreus, and what they reveal about Mycenaean wealth, beliefs and craftsmanship.

The major Mycenaean sites and citadels: Mycenae (the Lion Gate, the grave circles and the citadel walls), Tiryns and Pylos, their fortifications and architecture (Cyclopean masonry), and what they reveal about Mycenaean power and society.

Mycenaean society and the palace: the role of the king (wanax) and the social hierarchy, the megaron at the heart of the palace, and the evidence of the Linear B tablets for administration, economy, religion and trade.

The decline and collapse of Mycenaean civilisation around 1200 to 1100 BC: the destruction of the palaces, the possible causes (invasion, internal conflict, natural disaster and wider Mediterranean upheaval), the loss of writing and the coming of the Dark Age, and how the memory of the Mycenaeans survived into Homer.

Troy and its identification with Homer's city, Knossos and the relationship between the Mycenaeans and the earlier Minoan civilisation, and the evidence for Mycenaean trade and contact across the Bronze Age Mediterranean.

The characterisation of Odysseus as a hero: his cunning and cleverness (metis), shown in the blinding of the Cyclops and the 'Nobody' trick (Book 9), his endurance and leadership, his flaws (curiosity and boastfulness), and how he differs from a hero of pure strength.

The role of the gods and fate in the Odyssey: Athene as Odysseus's divine helper and patron, Poseidon as his divine enemy, the way gods intervene in disguise and through omens, and the relationship between divine will, fate and human choice.

The homecoming in Books 19, 21 and 22: the disguised Odysseus and Penelope, the recognition by the scar (Eurycleia), Penelope's loyalty and cleverness, the contest of the bow, and the killing of the suitors and the theme of justice and revenge.

The world of the Odyssey: the structure of Homeric society (kings, nobles, ordinary people and enslaved people), the heroic values of kleos (glory), time (honour) and arete (excellence), the importance of the household (oikos) and gift-exchange, and how this world relates to the Mycenaean evidence.

Xenia (guest-friendship) in the Odyssey: the rules and importance of hospitality, the gods as its protectors (Zeus Xenios), good hosts and guests, and the great violations of xenia by the Cyclops Polyphemus (Book 9) and by the suitors.